Features VINTAGE SPRINT CAR PIC THREAD, 1965 and older only please.

Bob McCoy in the S.O.W. Chevy at Ascot 1962.
According to the NARC Yearbook this is the car that Johnny Anderson owned, unless there was another car.

 

Here are some photos of the Anderson and his sprinter when it arrived in Australia for the 1971/72 tour.







The accompanying press story...
The first sprintcar to grace Australia's shores had already claimed a driver's life when Anderson made his racing debut in this sleek, state-of-the-art machine during the 1971/72 season.
Sherman Cleveland, who toured Australia with Bob Tattersall in 1966, lost his life in the car during a violent crash in California later that year, but this didn't phase Anderson.

The car is currently being restored by ex-sprintcar driver Bob Blacklaw.

 

.....'Hey monkaz! 'Here we go again! But I don't think we'll have as much trouble with the old Fike Plumbing car as we did with Leonard Surdam's car.

Back in March on ARM, I posted a brief history of the car beginning when John Pestana and Bobby Lang got the car for Atkins. I like the fact that Bill Chadbourne mentioned that possibly John and Bobby had separate ownership of the two cars. Somewhere I've got a picture of Hileman in the #99 car along side Dick. Here is what I posted over on ARM:

.....'Part of the history of the Fike Plumbing car that Johnny Anderson ultimately took to Australia in early 1972 is that in 1964/65, John Pestana and Bobby Lang bought the car for Dick Atkins to run in NARC in northern California and for some trips down to race with the CRA whenever there wasn't a conflicting date with their Pestana-Lang 2-car midget team running in BCRA. When Atkins left to go run for Wally and J. C. Agajanian in 1966, the car was sold to Sherman Cleveland. And poor Sherman didn't have it long. When he lost his life at Calistoga in July of '66, the car was sold to "Broadway Andy," Johnny Anderson's father. The car was called, "Mom's Mink" and was the most beautiful sprinter in northern California. Actually, Anderson's younger brother Billy, probably logged more time in the car than Johnny. Billy came close to losing his life in the car at the open comp race at Sacramento in 1969. I'm sure our friends 'down under' will find it interesting that there's a connection between the Fike car and Sherman "The Shy One," since I know he was extremely popular down there, as well as with a lot of us over here.

I even made up a YouTube video of Johnny Anderson's brother, Billy getting upside down at the 1969 U.S. Open Comp at Sacramento in the car.
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.....'The ex-Fike Plumbing car when it was owned by the Pestana-Lang racing team. Before Sherman Cleveland bought the car for the 1966 season, he was one of Pestana-Lang's drivers in the midgets and the sprint cars.

And of course, you can't mention Sherman Cleveland without mentioning that incredible match race he had with his George Davis Offy with Bryan Cunneen in the Linklater Holden down in Australia.

(poor quality pictures)

1. Dick Atkins (Pestana-Lang #98) racing (it looks like Dee Hileman, but I'm not positive) at Champion Speedway - South San Francisco (CA)

2. Sherman Cleveland in the same Pestana-Lang #98.



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So are you on board with my position that the "Fike car" in Australia is not the Fike Plumbing car that Parnelli drove?
I received a very interesting message this A.M. from Allan Wheeler in Australia who has spent quite a lot of time studying the history of the car in Australia, owned by Bob Blacklaw, he has come to the same conclusion that I have, it is not the Fike Plumbing Spl.
I have read your post and the post by Bob Jefferson. Based on the photos I can see that the Anderson car is a Hank Henry - so was the SOW car.
I am not trying to start a beef I am trying to discover the truth. I thought that was what this site was all about.

 

.....'Hey monkaz! There is one simple answer: And you actually answered it in one of your previous posts. There was more than one car! Before I'd try to disprove that the car Anderson took to Australia in 1972 was not an authentic Fike Plumbing car, look around and you'll see that there were other cars. I've seen Johnny Rutherford, Wayne Weiler, Chuck Hulse, among others in a Fike Plumbing car besides Parnelli.

I'll go back and search my vast archives and see if I can't find some of the other photos of the car.

You're doing a good job playing Sherlock Holmes and I have no doubt that you will solve this decades old mystery!

 

I know there was another Fike sprint car car, I believe that car was a Shilala.
The fellow from Australia, that wrote me, believes the car Dee and DeJong drove, the 99 car, was the Fike Plumbing Spl!
In his note he wrote that he dropped off a packet of material suggesting that the car in Australia wasn't the right car with one of P.J.'s people. Wheeler said this fellow told him that Parnelli knew the car in Australia was not the Fike Plumbing Spl.! I know this is heresay but don't you think it deserves another look?
I recognize a dig when I see one but believe me Lil Fauss I have solved many decades old mysteries.

 

.....'Oh no, not at all. You have made so much of this a lot of fun. I thoroughly enjoy all of your dedicated research, your ability to reach out (Australia!) and your collection of photos and your willingness to seek out the truth. This is all too much fun to want to come on here and offend someone.

Isn't it amazing that after all these years, that a lot of the "talk" and a lot of what we've read in yearbooks and racing publications could very well be false information??? Too bad. I will anxiously wait to see what more you find out from Australia. What's even more interesting is hearing that Parnelli actually knows that that isn't the genuine car. Parnelli was at Roseville (CA) back in '06 to run a vintage event in Anderson's ex-Bill Hofeldt (Johnny Pouelsen built) car that became the Vern Nachreiner car but the car wasn't up to par so Parnelli drove a beautiful red #21 champ dirt car owned by a gentleman from Oregon(?). Parnelli never said a word about the "myth."

I'm also anxiously waiting for Bill Chadbourne to come back with more info and (hopefully) some pics on his and Johnny Leverenz's Roger Beck house car that "Little" Joe Saldana rose to fame with back in 1970. I do know that it also propelled Roger Beck to national status as a formidable sprint car car builder.

 

When you can offer some proof that the Fike Plumbing Special went to Australia - let us all know.
Stories about Joe Saldana, Roger Beck, John Leverenz and Vern Nachreiner have nothing to do with the present location and ownership of the Fike car.
As far as period yearbooks and articles go, I do tend to view them less skeptically then some article written last week by a twenty year old kid, parroting shop worn yarns that the good ole boys have been repeating since the year ought shit!
As far as P.J. is concerned he wouldn't care if the car in Australia wasn't his sprint car, he has a make believe "Calhoun" in his garage!

 

"And of course, you can't mention Sherman Cleveland without mentioning that incredible match race he had with his George Davis Offy with Bryan Cunneen in the Linklater Holden down in Australia".

LittleFauss,
I was a teenager and at the Showground Speedway that night and watched that amazing race along with, as the commentator Rex Mossop says at the end of the clip "this crowd.... must be in excess of 35,000". Never tire of watching the video and that defining moment in Cunneen's racing career, that also included racing in the USA.
I really don't care what car Bob Blacklaw restores. Be great if it is the Fike car. Anyway.... It's the car that took Australia into the sprintcar age and my hats off to to Johnny Anderson for that.
And either way, Blacklaw just does a superb job when he restores cars and keeps Australian speedway history alive.

 

Know its kinda against the rules here to post a craigslist ad but here's a picture I just grabbed off of an ad for a 1962 restored spring car. 327 with hillborns, quick change, vertex mag.......

 

yes the car I owned and personally got from Sherman was the Fike Plumbing #98 and yes the reason Parnelli didn't answer the myth is he knows it is. I sent pictures to Bill Cruthers to post them here. The guy with the red 21 was Marv Price.

 

narcchampion,
I thought Sherman was dead when you purchased the car? Why did the NARC Yearbook say it was the former SOW Chevy? Was Parnelli directly questioned about the authenticity of the car in Australia?
I am trying to establish what the cops call, a "chain of custody", to ascertain how the car got from Harlan Fike and Joe Pittman to Pestana/Lang, Sherman Cleveland, Johnny Anderson, Garry Rush and Bob Blacklaw - so far I am having trouble establishing the - chain of custody.

 

It's only against the rules if you don't post the link to the craigslist ad with the picture gie us the link

 

Info and Pics from Johnny Anderson an the Fike Plumbing car

pics to be added soon I have to try to figure out how to convert from pdf File


yep can answer the question. I don't know what NARC put but it was wrong. Sherman bought the 98 car...have some pretty remarkable pictures of him in the 98, and the car in front of Jake Valenzuela garage. He was Sherms head mechanic and put it back together for me when I bought it from his wife and again when Bill wrecked it. So it is for sure the Fike Plumbing car. I can scan and send to you to put in this sight only problem is this new set up I have can seem to only get PDF files from it. Hope you can pull them out and re scan them...let me know
cant get them to post PDF so send me your home email and I will send them to you
cant get them to load pdf here so please send me your home email and I will send them there
ok sent them to your email racer 5 address let me know if y ou got them....rare photos not seen for a very long time

 

More from Johnny Anderson

One is a small pix of the car in Jake Velenzeuela driveway when he was Mechanicing on it. One is Jake Sherm, Paulson and don't know the other guy in front of the car and one is Sherman in the car at the quater mile at West Capital in color. the last is the newspaper clipping of his funeral. Guess this will put to rest the question on that sight. He had the 98 Fike Plumbing car. So much so Parnelli called me to get the phone number of the guy who had it in Austraila so he could try and buy it, but no luck...Johnny

 

sorry for the watermarks only way I could convert the pictures quickly will try to get them without it later

 

Roy and Johnny,
Please understand I joined H.A.M.B. to get information and give information to those people who needed help.
I have no doubt that Johnny bought the car from Sherman's widow, and All accounts clearly point to the fact that Sherman bought the car from Bobby Lang and John Pestana. I just wanted to know how Harlan Fike and Joe Pittman fit into the picture.

 

Monkaz not sure why they put that in the NARC yearbook. I personally talked to Parnelli so that is how I know. Yes Sherman had died, I bought the car from his wife, but was good friends with Sherman, I was a pall bearer at his funeral. I can just tell you that Sherman bought the "98" Pestana-lang sprint car when he returned from Australia. and ran Phoenix, Anderson, Chico , Dixon,Carson City and Reno. This you can document, but history before that cannot tell you. Johnny Anderson

 

Welcome to the Hamb Johnny, Look around this thread I'm sure there is a lot here you will like! And a lot you will be able to add also!!!

Roy

 

At Latimore today. I guess Langhorne-Johnny Thomson.

 

well at least you can put this part of the puzzle together. Here is a picture of Parnelli and I holding the Fike Plumbing car we both drove....

 

That's not really part of the puzzle - just two guys holding a picture. When I figure the puzzle out you'll be the first to know.

 

Little Fauss:

Here are some pictures of 12x car. #1 Opperman at Ascot qualifing for 100 lapper fall 1968. #2 Opperman at Handford 1.5 mile track which no longer exists fall 1968. .

 

.....'Thanks a lot, Bill. 'Those are clear and brilliant. I happened to be sifting through some of my stuff tonight for racer5c and came across the program for that race at Hanford. So, I've enclosed the lineup. Opperman qualified very well that day on the pavement.

I went back and retrieved some pics from 'black Sunday' when you guys came out for the 1970 U.S. Open Comp at Sacramento and Little Joe set fast time. I had no idea that the name entered in the program, C & L Racing for Saldana's #2 Roger Beck car was in fact Chadbourne & Leverenz! I knew John was a driver but didn't realize that he drove Bobby Lang's midget! That must have been pretty cool--he was in one car and Baldwin was in the other car!

1. Program lineup for the CRA race at the 1 1/2 Mile Hanford Speedway, 1968.

2. Straight-up start for the trophy dash, CRA Open Comp at Sacramento, 1970. "Little" Joe Saldana #2 on the pole, Bob Evans #10, The Pride of Kearney Missouri, Eddie Leavitt and Jerry Blundy #33, outside second row.

3. Joe Saldana racing Clark Templeman, Sacramento, 1970

 

Not that it's any of my business, or I have anything useful to add, but...
How is a photo of a previous owner and former driver, both legends of our sport, posing with a picture of the car in question, along with statements from both that they believe the car in Australia to be the original Fike Plumbing Special, NOT a "piece of the puzzle?" What is it you expect to turn up? VIN numbers? DMV records? I'd be surprised if bills of sale were exchanged. At the time, these were RACE CARS that were being bought, sold, "cut up and buried" or parted out, depending on the story. I don't think that anyone ever had a clue how valuable and sought-after they would become, so provenance may always be in question. It's not the Hope Diamond, but even as it sits, questions and all, it's still a huge part of Sprint Car history on two continents.
Also, just because Parnelli owns a "fake Calhoun" doesn't mean he doesn't know or care about authenticity. As far as I know he's never represented his car as anything but a replica, built by A.J. Watson himself if I remember correctly, and Offy-powered, unlike other Calhoun-tributes (no slur on Mac Miller).
Happy hunting, but don't be so quick to slam other's opinions, or spit on the shadows of Giants...

 

ha! Apparently, Mr. Monkaz is trying to create a conspiracy or controversy, where none actually exists, based on misinformation printed in some club year book.
The linage of the "Fike" has been well established and confirmed by several of the main "players" in the car's history.
Were I Mr. Monkaz, I would value "first hand" info from Johnny Anderson rather than make smarta$$ remarks.
I believe what Mr. Monkaz is looking for is someone who will tell him what he wants to hear.

mac miller in INDY

 

Actually, Parnelli's car was built by Chris Paulsen here in INDY

 

I hope Johnny's first experience with the HAMB doesn't keep him from coming back he could be a huge asset to this board, and I kind of feel bad since I am the one who asked him to help out with Mr Monkaz,s questions

 

Roy, Don't worry he will be back. He's a racer and racers have thick skin. Denny Z